


Casual Observers: Working Mommy

by Browneyesparker



Series: Casual Observers [6]
Category: Girl Meets World
Genre: Divorced parents, F/M, Family, Friendship, Gen, Romance, girl meets world - Freeform, joshaya, mothers, working moms
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-09-05
Updated: 2015-09-05
Packaged: 2018-04-19 06:32:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,741
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4736048
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Browneyesparker/pseuds/Browneyesparker
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Katy’s heart stopped as Maya sang on and suddenly everything was obvious. She was in like or in love with somebody. She couldn’t believe she hadn’t noticed it before but then there hadn’t been anybody. Farkle Minkus wasn’t her type and Lucas Friar and Riley Matthews were in mutual like with each other and Maya would never pursue the same boy that her friend liked.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Casual Observers: Working Mommy

**.**

**Chapter 6**

_Working Mommy_

Maya was singing happy songs, it had been a while since Katy Hart had heard her sing anything at all. She peeked into her daughter’s room and saw her spinning around in circles in her pajamas, dancing with an imaginary partner and putting on a concert for her stuffed animals and solo American Girl doll just like she had when she was a little girl.

She was a powerful performer, drawing Katy in just as much as any really good contestant on American Idol could. She couldn’t take her eyes off Maya as she spun around the room and belted out the lyrics to a song that she hadn’t ever heard before.

_“Turning in circles and blurring the lines, I won’t lie, I’m a little bit frightened of my imagination, swear I’ll try ‘cause I’m feeling enlightened. You’re my inspiration. We can fly if we want to, I promise you faith will give you wings. Just take the second star on the right, straight ahead to the morning light. . .”_

Katy’s heart stopped as Maya sang on and suddenly everything was obvious. She was in like or in love with somebody. She couldn’t believe she hadn’t noticed it before but then there hadn’t been anybody. Farkle Minkus wasn’t her type and Lucas Friar and Riley Matthews were in mutual like with each other and Maya would never pursue the same boy that her friend liked. She was loyal to a fault.

But she hadn’t ever mentioned a name or brought somebody home to study and for TV dinners. And they had never been one to share secrets with each other. If Maya liked somebody, she was sure Topanga Matthews had been the first person to hear about it.

Katy so desperately wanted to know who had captured her daughter’s attention enough to make her to sing again. Usually girls with crushes would find a way to bring his name up in any situation, but Maya was as silent as a darkened theater.

And she had been so absent from her daughter’s life, she knew she didn’t have the right to press her for details. To ask her for questions.

Still, she wished Maya would confide in her.

Because finding out about her daughter’s first crush seemed like a rite of passage. She didn’t want to miss out on it for anything. She wanted to be there when he didn’t like her back and her little heart was broken or maybe he liked her back and her heart would be too light for words. Katy couldn’t see the future for Maya and this mystery boy. But she wanted to be there when the future happened.

**.**

The answer came at Topanga’s a week or two later. Cory’s youngest brother Joshua came into the establishment and it was like the whole world had stood still. Maya looked up on instinct when the bell above the door rang. And he was standing there, like the leading man in a Taylor Swift music video.

He found Maya almost immediately and they both smiled at each other at the same time.

For Katy Hart, the world was in black and white but they were in screaming color and she knew, Joshua was the one who had captured her daughter’s heart and she had captured his if the way he was looking at her was anything to go by.

She scrolled through the conversations she had had with her daughter over the course of a few months to make sense of what was happening right in front of her eyes. If she could recall correctly, Maya had been casually mentioning Josh for the better part of her young life.

Katy couldn’t believe she hadn’t noticed it before. But then Josh was _three_ years older than Maya and Katy had been chalking up the talk to hero worship or the desire for an older brother the whole time. Or maybe an uncle because she didn’t have one.

She had never attributed it to love.

But she should have.

Because Maya was sitting there with the same goofy expression she had been wearing every single time she had mentioned the young boy.

Katy made a pretense of making a fresh pot of coffee while she watched them from the corner of her eye. In a matter of seconds, he had made his way over to her and taken the unoccupied barstool to her left.

“Hey Maya,” Josh said.

“Hey Josh,” Maya echoed, tucking a strand of hair behind her hair as she tried not to smile anymore but failing miserably. “What a surprise. I didn’t know you were coming this weekend.”

“Well, if you knew then it wouldn’t have been a surprise,” Josh answered. “I’m pretty surprised that Riley didn’t say anything to you though.”

“Oh, I’m pretty sure she’s about to burst,” Maya said. “She can keep a secret but only for so long. So, what brings you to the city this weekend? Aside from your family that is. I was sure you’d be swamped finishing senior projects and what-not.”

Josh snorted. “Did you just say _what-not_?”

Maya nudged him in the ribs with her elbow. “Seriously Josh, _what_ are you doing here? Is there something going on that I forgot about? Because you couldn’t have come all this way just to see _me_.”

“It isn’t really _that_ far,” Josh reminded her. “It’s hardly an hour-and-a-half away. And what is an hour-and-a-half when you have the right music and a good reason for the drive?”

Katy looked just in time to see Maya’s eyes widen slightly as it dawned on her that she _was_ the reason for his visit this particular weekend.

“You shouldn’t keep spending your money on me,” she finally said.

“Why not?” Josh asked. “It’s my money, I can spend it on whatever I want to as long as it isn’t on anything illegal. Besides, it’s been 20 days since the last time we saw each other. Last night that song from _Finding Neverland_ came on and I decided I couldn’t wait to see you anymore.”

“I’ve been there too a few times,” Maya admitted.

Katy turned around and smiled widely. “Maya, who’s your friend?”

“Oh, this is Joshua Matthews,” Maya answered. “I’ve mentioned him to you before.”

“You have,” Katy said. “A few times actually. It’s a pleasure to finally meet you Joshua.”

“Same here, Mrs. Hart,” Josh replied, shaking her hand politely.

“Oh please, call me _Katy_! I haven’t been Mrs. Hart for years,” Katy told him.

She glanced at Maya to see if she had embarrassed her in any way and was relieved to see that her daughter was actually smiling as she watched the exchange.

Katy was relieved. She didn’t want to do anything to damage her daughter’s relationship, not before it had even gotten the chance to really begin.

**.**

“Tell me about Joshua,” Katy said.

Topanga looked up from the new scone recipe she was developing. “Josh?”

“He came into the café on Friday,” Katy answered. “To see Maya, why didn’t you tell me? Why didn’t she tell me?”

“I assumed you knew,” Topanga said. “And if Maya didn’t tell you, I’m assuming she had her reasons.”

“Yes,” Katy said wistfully. “We’ve started to talk more lately, you know. But she’s still holding back. . . I wish she had told me about him, she told you.”

“She didn’t tell us anything,” Topanga hurried to assure her. “It’s been kind of obvious since the first day the two of them met.”

“And what does it say about me that I didn’t notice until recently? You know my daughter better than I do!”

“Hey! You’re doing your best, Katy,” Topanga said, going to her and giving her a hug. “And listen, you’re Maya’s mother. You have every right to ask her about him, you know.”

“I don’t want to intrude,” Katy answered.

“Have you thought that maybe Maya _wants_ you to intrude?” Topanga asked.

**.**

“Tell me about Josh,” Katy whispered to Maya that night, sitting down beside her daughter.

“Josh?” Maya repeated looking up from the canvas she was prepping.

“I know you like him, Maya,” Katy said. “It took me a while to pick up on it but I know you like him. I want to know about him.”

“He’s a good guy,” Maya assured her.

“I don’t doubt that,” Katy answered. “What makes him so special? What attracted you to him? I want to know everything.”

Maya got a far off look in her eyes and bit her bottom lip, like she was trying to piece a story together. “I don’t know. It happened the first time I went to Philly with Riley. He was sitting on the counter, helping his mom make cookies and I just knew.”

“How? You couldn’t have even been 10 at the time,” Katy said.

“I don’t know,” Maya replied. “There weren’t any blinding flash, there was no crashing chord. It began quietly, I didn’t even know what love was back then. I do know I almost lost it. . .”

“After the divorce?” Katy asked quietly.

Maya nodded, her eyes welling up. “We would talk at night when I couldn’t sleep. He would play his guitar and sing me to sleep. And one day, the summer after dad left, he found my smile.”

 Katy remembered that day. She had been petrified she was going to lose her daughter to depression for good when she came waltzing into the apartment, wearing one of Riley’s dresses and smiling like she hadn’t in a long time. She could vaguely remember Topanga mentioning Josh being the reason Maya was smiling again.

“What else?”

“We can’t be together yet,” Maya confessed. “He’s three years older than I am and he could get in trouble if we were in a relationship. But we’re friends right now and one day, when the time is right we’re going to get together. We just have to be patient. It’s hard but we’re dealing with it.”

“With frequent visits and long wistful stares?” Katy teased.

“Something like that.”

“Thank you for telling me,” Katy said.

**.**

There were parts of Joshua and Maya’s relationship that only Katy got to see. Like how when they were apart for too long, Maya would fret about forever and if there really was such a thing as true love. She would worry that maybe Josh would wind up resenting her because they had been tied to each other longer than any normal high school boy was normally tied to one person. She would wonder if they were truly meant to be or if she was just wasting her time.

Katy and Kermit’s relationship had seemingly ruined her for relationships the way Topanga and Cory’s relationship had ruined their children for anything but long-term relationships.

Katy knew Maya’s fears weren’t misplaced. Cory and Topanga were the exception, Katy and Kermit were the rule. But she also knew with unshakable certainty that the Matthews boys weren’t Kermit, they loved fervently and they loved long and steady and deeply.

It was always a happy day when Josh showed up in town again. All of Maya’s fears evaporated while Josh always seemed to know that she needed assurance that everything was going to be okay between them. She wasn’t needy, she was just a little insecure.

And Josh dealt with her insecurities well.

**.**

Katy listened at the door as the pair bickered back and forth. She wasn’t worried that it would affect them as friends or as something more. Nobody was perfect. Every relationship had its up and its downs, it was what they did when they weren’t getting along that made it stronger or broke it completely.

She peered out of the ajar door and watched as Maya tried to walk away from Josh but he grabbed her by the shoulders and held her firmly in place, looking at her with a serious expression.

“You can’t just walk away,” he told her. “You’re the one who came to see me the last time we fought, it’s my turn.”

“You forgot we were supposed to meet for breakfast.”

“So? I forgot! It doesn’t mean we’re over, Maya. Sometimes people forget things, it doesn’t mean they don’t care.”

“It does in my life,” Maya retorted.

“I’m not your father,” Josh told her quietly.

Maya sighed and rested her forehead against his chest. “I know. I’m just afraid.”

“Don’t be,” Josh whispered, pulling her into a fierce embrace. “Don’t be. I’m always going to try my hardest not to let you down and if I ever do, please try and have understanding for me. I am only human after all, I’m not a white knight or a superhero with a cape.”

“Okay,” Maya whispered back. “I’ll try.”

**.**

They went to the Cape Cod with the Matthews family and Shawn. There were a lot of long days where Josh and Maya would disappear all by themselves to do who knew what, barely asking permission to leave as they ran out the door. These were more moments that Katy didn’t get to witness and even though Maya was letting her in a little more, she still was more out of the loop than the other people in her life.

The price of being a single-parent.

But she was thankful for the moments she got to see them share while they were on vacation together. The way Josh looked at Maya while they ate house made ice cream or how they would hold hands as soon as they were off the porch steps.

Katy was impatiently waiting with everybody else for the moment they could be more than friends. It was going to be beautiful.

**.**

Except Maya’s 18th birthday came and went and nothing happened. Josh still showed up in New York and they would do the things that friends did while it meant something so much more. But they didn’t cross the line over into something more.

Katy knew they still had feelings for each other, that they probably even loved each other but there was something holding them back. She couldn’t imagine what it was except maybe they were afraid to ruin the delicate balance that was their friendship. If they did become something more and it didn’t work out, it would ruin everything.

She felt the same way about Shawn. She liked him, she wanted to be with him but she didn’t want a rerun of Kermit and their broken marriage. She knew Shawn felt the same way about her, so they kept each other at arm’s length. Continuing on as friends and going out together but never taking the steps to be something more.

They both agreed one night that they didn’t want Josh and Maya making the same mistakes as they were though. But they didn’t know what to do, didn’t want to interfere. A long time ago, when Josh and Maya had become Josh and Maya, everybody had gotten together and agreed to let them do their own thing without pushing them together or making them feel like they should be something more than they were ready to be.

So, they agreed to wait.

Because eventually they had to break and finally get together.

**.**

It happened at the stroke of midnight New Year’s Eve when everybody else around them was exchanging kisses on the mouth. They did it because they didn’t want to be left out, which Katy didn’t exactly agree with, but afterwards when they had both separated and run away from the living room, she hoped something good would come of it.

**.**

They were together almost instantly after that. There were lots of kisses at midnight and cuddling during movies and when they got engaged a year later, Katy couldn’t be happier to call Josh her son-in-law, he had proven to be exactly what Maya needed over the years.

He had taught her true love really existed and he hadn’t ever left her when the going had gotten tough and Maya had needed that from somebody other than Riley to show her that, because best friend’s usually stayed for better or for worse.

The Hart women were used to men leaving when the going got tough.

So, Josh staying as long as he had and beyond was the most refreshing thing in the world for the both of them.

As Katy walked her daughter down the aisle, she was happy to give her away to a happily ever after.

 

**_The End_**

 

**.**

**Author's Note:**

> I am not going to lie, this story was pretty hard to write. We don’t completely know Katy yet and but I didn’t want her to be a negligent mother. I wanted her to be somebody who was preoccupied with giving Maya the best possible life from what means they had. As for “Shaty,” I do like them but I didn’t make them a huge part of the story because this is about Josh and Maya. But I have a head canon that they do get together eventually in this AU. 
> 
> The song that Maya was singing is from Finding Neverland, the musical. It is called “What You Mean to Me”. It was the inspiration for this particular story, I would recommend it to you for your listen pleasure.
> 
> I’ll be back next week with something new. I hope you will tell me what you thought of this installment in the meantime!
> 
> Until Next Time!


End file.
